Harvest Report 2016 published by Quinta do Noval; excellent wines

12-12-2016

2016 was a year of extremes: a warm winter with high rainfall, at 618 mm twice as much as in an average year. After a wet spring, summer was very hot and dry, with some peaks of heat in August and September.

By the end of August, the harvest looked extremely good, in excellent sanitary condition, but ripening began to slow down due to the very hot and dry conditions.

Fortunately 17 mm of much needed rain fell on 13th September, and maturation continued in ideal conditions from this point onwards. The main part of the harvest began on 19th September in dry and sunny weather, and the fruit continued to ripen throughout the harvest period. We were able to harvest each plot in ideal conditions as ripening continued.

In spite of the unusual and extreme climatic conditions of the year, the end result is of an excellent quality. The wines are balanced and fresh, very aromatic and expressive. The dry red wines are high in colour, beautiful, well structured and with good acidity. The Port wines are exceptional, with excellent structure, very intense bright fruit, and aromatically very expressive.